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Barney
Barney & the Backyard Gang is a home video series produced from 1988 to 1991 that launched the stardom of the worldwide popular television show ''Barney and Friends''. The series focused on the adventures Barney and the Backyard Gang take, through their imagination. The series, for the most part, was for entertainment, having little to no education incorporated. Some tapes, such as Campfire Sing-Along and Barney Goes to School, are really the only ones of the series to teach educational lessons. All the other tapes only focus on the caring and imagination aspect of Barney. It wasn't until Barney and Friends, when the songs incorporated lessons and morals. The series made more than $3.5 millon. The first three tapes alone sold 50,000 copies. Despite being a huge success in Dallas, the series was only a moderate success throughout the rest of the country. Videos * The Backyard Show (Pilot) (October 13, 1988) (First appearance of Barney and the human cast) * Three Wishes (January 27, 1989) * A Day at the Beach (April 6, 1989) (Last appearances of Michael and Amy's parents, and Jason. This was also Barney's last time being a darker blue-violet color) * Waiting for Santa (January 6, 1990) (Derek's debut, and Barney's first time being a true purple (actually pinkish-magenta) color) * Campfire Sing-Along (June 8, 1990) (Only appearance of Jeffrey) * Barney Goes to School (August 15, 1990) (The last time Barney is performed by David Voss.) * Barney in Concert (July 29, 1991) (Baby Bop's debut, the first time Barney is performed by David Joyner and the first time Barney is rounder and chubbier.) * Rock with Barney (Series finale) (October 20, 1991) (Last appearances of Amy and Adam, and the only appearance of Adam's mom. The rest of the gang would stay on for the first two seasons of Barney & Friends) All eight videos were re-released in 1992, and the last five titles were re-released in 1996. Two of them, Waiting for Santa and Barney in Concert, were also re-released by Lyrick Studios, in 1997 and 2000. There is currently a petition to get the videos, along with early (if not complete) seasons of Barney & Friends, re-released on DVD. Cast *Barney (Bob West (voice), David Voss (body suit performer, first six videos), David Joyner (body suit performer, last two videos)) *Michael (Brian Eppes) *Amy (Becky Swonke) *Tina (Jessica Zucha) *Luci (Leah Gloria) *Jason (Salim Grant, only appeared in the first 3 videos) *Adam (Alexander Jhin, every video except Campfire Sing-Along) *Derek (Rickey Carter, successor to Jason, starting with Waiting for Santa) *Jeffrey (Jeffrey Lowe, only appearance was Campfire Sing-Along) *Kathy (Lauren King, first appearance was Rock with Barney, later appeared with some of the other cast in Barney & Friends) *Baby Bop (Julie Johnson (voice), Dao Knight (body suit performer)) *Michael and Amy's Mom (Sandy Duncan, only appeared in the first 3 videos)) *Michael and Amy's Dad (Bob Reed, only appeared in the first 3 videos) Previews Almost every video in the Backyard Gang series contained previews at the end of the tape. These previews would show other videos in the series. Different previews would show depending on which tape version (Sandy Duncan or Barney). For any 1992 releases, the Barney previews were shown. The five 1996 re-released tapes included Barney Home Video and Barney Home Video Classic Collection previews released that year. Sandy Duncan Versions In the Sandy Duncan tapes (which were the original released tapes), Sandy Duncan gives a brief intro and outro speech. In the intro speech, she usually talks about how happy she is to be apart of the project, and the values children will get out of these videos. In the outro speech, she shares information about other videos in the series. Unlike the Barney previews, the following previews actually show scenes from each video: #''The Backyard Show'' Preview #''Three Wishes'' Preview #''A Day at the Beach'' Preview The Sandy Duncan versions lasted until 1989, when Duncan left the series. Barney Versions After Sandy Duncan left the series, Barney took over the previews in 1990. After the video played, he'd appear and say, "Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the show! Here are previews from some of my other videos." The Barney previews would only show one song from each video: #''Campfire Sing-Along'' (S'Mores) #''The Backyard Show'' (Six Little Ducks) #''Three Wishes'' (Mr. Knickerbocker) #''A Day at the Beach'' (Swimming, Swimming) #''Waiting for Santa'' (The Elves' Rap) #''Barney Goes to School'' (If All the Raindrops) However, there wasn't a Barney in Concert preview or a Rock with Barney preview in any of the tapes, as both those videos were made in 1991. Barney in Concert was the only tape in the series to not show any previews at the end. However, the purple and green colored edition of Barney in Concert and the 1996 edition of Barney in Concert do show previews. Rock with Barney was also the only tape in the series to not show any previews at the end. However, the original edition of Rock with Barney and the 1996 edition of Rock with Barney do show previews. On the original prints of videos such as Waiting for Santa, after the previews, Barney would say "Oh! One more thing: Parents, the Backyard Gang is always looking for new members. So if there's someone in your home who'd like to be in my shows, please send us a five-minute video tape audition. We'd love to consider your special star for our videos." The screen would change as Barney still speaks, "Just mail the VHS cassette to: The Lyons Group, 300 East Bethany Road, Allen, Texas, 75002." The clip ends with Barney saying, "Well, that's a wrap!" He then slaps a director's slate, which causes him to start laughing, and he says to the audience "See you next time!" And he continues to laugh until the screen fades to black. The Lyons Group logo plays almost immediately after the fade. Barney in Concert and Rock with Barney also includes that footage but Barney saying "Oh!" is edited out. The Music Music for the Backyard Gang videos was done by Stephen Bates (Baltes) and Philip A. Parker (as with the television series that aired later), while Lory Lazarus wrote the first original song created for Barney, Friends Are Forever. Barney Songs that Debuted During This Series Barney Songs that are Bolded and Underlined have been used after 2002, and are still ocassionally used on the show. #'Barney Theme Song' #'I Love You' #Hey, Hey, The Gang's All Here #Hello, Hello, Hello #'The Rocket Song' #Friends Are Forever #Barney is Our Dinosaur #This is the Way We Walk the Beach #Swimming, Swimming #This is the Way We Leave the Beach #Waiting for Santa #S-A-N-T-A #'Winter's Wonderful' #'Skating, Skating' #The Elves' Rap #Let's All Do A Little Tapping #'S'Mores' #I Wish There Was School Every Day #'There Are Seven Days' #'The Alphabet Chant' #'The Weather Riddle Song' #'The Shape Song' #'Hug a Color' #'What I Want to Be' # Three Bears Rap # The Goodbye Song # Everyone is Special #Backyard Gang Rap #'We are Barney and the Backyard Gang' #Baby Bop's Song #'Bubble, Bubble Bath' #'Help Protect the Earth' #'Me and My Teddy' #There are Fifty Stars on Our Flag #'I Can Laugh' #'Good Manners' Notes *In the first five videos, "I Love You" was sung at the beginning. However, it was sung at the end of Barney Goes to School and Barney in Concert and is frequently sung at the end of Barney & Friends. *In 1990, The Disney Channel aired episodes from the Backyard Gang series as part of its "Lunch Box" program. *Related merchandise to the Backyard Gang videos include read-along books (of the first three videos) and tape sets (of the entire series). *The earlier videos from 1988 and 1989 featured actress Sandy Duncan as Michael and Amy's mother. *Because the majority of the gang (except for Michael and Amy) meet Barney for the first time in ''A Day at the Beach'', it takes place before The Backyard Show. *The first three videos of the series featured Barney with a slightly deeper voice, perhaps larger eyes, a visible red tongue (until 1991), and a much darker color of purple (which turned more magenta as the series went on). *None of the original or 1992 versions of the Backyard Gang tapes were ever closed-captioned, but later prints were captioned by the Caption Center WGBH Educational Foundation, which did the show since late 1993. Waiting for Santa, however, was captioned by the National Captioning Institute, then was later re-captioned by the Caption Center WGBH Eductional Foundation in the mid 1990's. *In the 1996 re-releases: Campfire Sing Along, Waiting for Santa, Barney Goes To School, Barney in Concert and Rock with Barney ''all used the opening & closing previews: ''Once Upon A Time, Kids for Character, Barney's Fun & Games, ''and ''Barney's Talent Show. *B.J. appeared with every Backyard Gang kid except Jeffrey, Amy, Luci, Adam, and Jason. See Also * Barney & Friends - The TV series that came after this video series 1992-present. * *